César Chavez Day – Image Gallery

EL PASO − Every year on Cesar Chavez Day, the Centro de los Trabajadores Agrícolas Fronterizos holds a march in downtown El Paso to honor the man who started the movement for justice and dignity of farmworkers, La Causa.

This year’s rally was the typical gathering of social activists, community leaders, students, farmworkers and artists. But what set this year’s rally apart from the rest was this year it was also a victory lap.

(Raymundo Aguirre/Borderzine.com)

In January, the Faculty Senate at the University of Texas at El Paso voted to remove Cesar Chavez Day as an official, observed school holiday. Through the leadership of student organizations and the community, the holiday was reinstated when the pressure forced the Senate to re-assess their decision.

The march was a reminder that the fight wasn’t for Chavez; it was for us. It was for La Causa. It was the guiding hand of Chavez’s generation teaching this generation what it is to fight.

In this gallery, Borderzine photographer Raymundo Aguirre captured the friction, the spirit and the humanity of the event.

About the author:

Raymundo Aguirre
Raymundo Aguirre grew up in San Elizario, a few miles outside of El Paso, Texas. Because both of his parents came to the United States from Mexico, he would often cross back and forth between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez on trips and to visit family members. It became harder and rarer to do so with the increase in the death count and fear of violence across the border.
As a student of the University of Texas at El Paso, he discovered a taste for writing. He declared his major under the Department of Bilingual Creative Writing. To pursue a greater understanding of photography, he began to involve himself more and more in multimedia classes and ultimately declared it his minor. He began writing, taking photos and creating videos for the local online publication Borderzine.com.
With his newfound taste for journalism, Aguirre began working for the school newspaper, The Prospector. Although initially only a contributing photographer, he later became a full-time staff and sports photographer. Aguirre was also a photographer for the bilingual UTEP publication Minero Magazine and followed the local Battle of the Bands for the fall semester issue.
Through an internship with the freelance reporter Monica Ortiz Uribe, Aguirre discovered the diversity and real life applications of journalism. Because Uribe focused on radio broadcast, he discovered the creativity allowed by the natural sounds in life and voice. His enthusiasm for journalism increased a step at a time, he currently freelances for local magazines and newspapers; his camera forever slung across the shoulder.